Today, 38 years ago, on March 26, 1987 (February 27, 1987), China and Portugal signed the Joint Statement on the Macau Issue. On March 26, 1987, the Chinese and Portuguese governments drafted the Joint Statement on the Macau Issue in Beijing. On April 13, the same year, the two governments officially signed the declaration in Beijing. The Chinese and Portuguese governments stated in the statement that the Macau area is the territory of China and that the Government of the People's Republic of China will restore sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999. The Chinese government announced the establishment of a special administrative region in Macau in accordance with the "one country, two systems" principle. The Special Administrative Region enjoys a high degree of autonomy, according to the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region.